FYI, Win-Test soundcard support has a built-in variable tempo feature. We
discovered that at W2PV @ WW1WW this weekend when our recordings sounded
strangely speeded up. We ended up turning it off because we were able to
muster all the urgency we needed in the original recordings :-)
73, Dick WC1M
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ktfrog007@aol.com [mailto:Ktfrog007@aol.com]
> Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2013 10:02 AM
> To: cq-contest@contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Improving voice recordings for phone contests
>
> Hi Pete,
>
> Thank you for this positive and helpful posting. I'm not much of a
> phone op and have never used a voice keyer, but I thought it important
> enough to save in my "Hints & Kinks" email folder for future reference.
>
> 73,
> Kermit, AB1J
>
>
> In a message dated 3/7/2013 13:11:26 Coordinated Universal Time,
> n4zr@contesting.com writes:
>
> As a diversion from the debate about which contest is better....
>
> Before last weekend's contest, I had a chance to experiment a bit with
> my voice recordings. One of the problems I have always had is that
> when I try to enunciate clearly I always slow down, and the resulting
> recording lacks the urgency you expect in a contest situation. I also
> always notice stations whose recorded and live audio don't sound
> anything alike, and wanted to minimize that as much as possible.
>
> I use Audacity, excellent freeware recording software, but this time
> around I "discovered" its "Change Tempo" function, which speeds up
> speech without changing the pitch or timbre. The results are wonderful
> - you can speed up any recording 10 or 20 percent at a time, and it
> sounds completely natural, just faster.
>
> So what I do, for whatever it is worth, is the following. This may be
> old hat for the SSB pros, but judging from what we hear on the air, it
> could be useful for a lot of other people.
>
> *make a recording.
>
> *trim it (in Audacity) so there is no dead air.
>
> *amplify (without clipping) in Audacityto set peaks at 0 dB.
>
> *listen and adjust the tempo (on the same Enhance menu) for the effect
> I want. Repeat these 4 steps for each recorded message.
>
> *adjust my sound card's microphone gain (I run my microphone through
> the sound card) so that it produces the same peak level as the
> recordings.
>
> *adjust my transceiver's TX equalizer, mic gain and compression to give
> me the sound I want on the air. It is much easier to do this with a
> recorded message, so you can really listen to yourself. The nice part
> of having done the preceding steps is that you only have to adjust your
> transceiver controls.
>
> --
>
> 73, Pete N4ZR
> Check out the Reverse Beacon Network at
> http://reversebeacon.net,
> blog at reversebeacon.blogspot.com.
> For spots, please go to your favorite
> ARC V6 or VE7CC DX cluster node.
>
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> CQ-Contest@contesting.com
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>
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